Alfa Romeo GTV V6 Lusso.
Discussion
Hi all, this is my first actual thread, despite having lurked about this site for quite sometime. So I'll kick off with a brief bit about myself first and then we'll move on to the car in question.
I'm 44, happily divorced and currently living in Leeds, although I'm originally from the home counties. My first love was motorbikes, but I had a rather nasty off in 1992 that forced me to look at actually getting a car license. My first car was 1984 BMW 320i (E30). That started a long running passion for all things German. Mostly VWs. I've owned many Mk2 Golf GTis and Mk2 Sciroccos etc.
Then in about 2006 I bought my first Alfa Romeo. It was a 156 SW Veloce and boy did I love that thing. It went wrong quite a bit, though, so I went back to the Germans. Owned a few Porsches (back when they were cheap!) and a stunning E30 Tech 1 Sport (still miss that car). Then the offspring arrived and I was instructed to get something "safe and reliable". To me that meant "Swedish and fast", so I then had around 4 Saab Aeros.
In 2009 I found myself single and no longer needing a family sled, so went back to Alfas. I'd always had a lusting for the GTV, but was always concerned about the potential reliability issues. So I did what any sensible person would and decided to do a bit of research. This consisted of buying the cheapest Twin Spark I could find online, sight unseen. It was £500 and I thrashed it everywhere, actively trying to kill it. It was scruffy, noisy and not much to look at, but boy did it put a grin on my face. It also never let me down! So research done, I decided to get a better one. Up next was an identical TS, but in much much better condition. I ran that for a good few years and then bought a 159 Ti to use as a daily and kept the GTV for giggles at the weekend.
Sadly the 159 left me cold and after a year, I sold it. However I now had a good chunk of cash and worked out I could sell the TS and replace both cars with a GTV V6. Looked at quite a few, but eventually settled on a Proteo Red one of 99 vintage. Purchased from an ad on this very site. Here's a link to the previous owner's thread.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=16...
I spent quite a lot of time, effort and cash on upgrades and maintenance and last month got her to pretty much perfect for me.
IMG_5282 by Tristan Kelly, on Flickr
Then two weeks ago this happened...
IMG_5310 by Tristan Kelly, on Flickr
To say I was devastated would be an understatement. Doesn't look that bad at first glance, however the bumper is still mounted solidly to the chassis, so should give you a good idea of how bent the front is.
Anyway after some arguing with insurers I accepted an amount and retained the car for spares. The hunt was then on for a replacement. Cue an Alfa Owners Club member seeing my distress and offering up his "spare" GTV v6!
Here's how she looked on Saturday when I collected her from Oxfordshire.
Before by Tristan Kelly, on Flickr
One hot and sweaty weekend later and she now looks like this!
IMG_5368 by Tristan Kelly, on Flickr
So, every cloud and that. I'll update this as and when I do other things. She has a way to go to make perfect, but the base is a really good one!
I'm 44, happily divorced and currently living in Leeds, although I'm originally from the home counties. My first love was motorbikes, but I had a rather nasty off in 1992 that forced me to look at actually getting a car license. My first car was 1984 BMW 320i (E30). That started a long running passion for all things German. Mostly VWs. I've owned many Mk2 Golf GTis and Mk2 Sciroccos etc.
Then in about 2006 I bought my first Alfa Romeo. It was a 156 SW Veloce and boy did I love that thing. It went wrong quite a bit, though, so I went back to the Germans. Owned a few Porsches (back when they were cheap!) and a stunning E30 Tech 1 Sport (still miss that car). Then the offspring arrived and I was instructed to get something "safe and reliable". To me that meant "Swedish and fast", so I then had around 4 Saab Aeros.
In 2009 I found myself single and no longer needing a family sled, so went back to Alfas. I'd always had a lusting for the GTV, but was always concerned about the potential reliability issues. So I did what any sensible person would and decided to do a bit of research. This consisted of buying the cheapest Twin Spark I could find online, sight unseen. It was £500 and I thrashed it everywhere, actively trying to kill it. It was scruffy, noisy and not much to look at, but boy did it put a grin on my face. It also never let me down! So research done, I decided to get a better one. Up next was an identical TS, but in much much better condition. I ran that for a good few years and then bought a 159 Ti to use as a daily and kept the GTV for giggles at the weekend.
Sadly the 159 left me cold and after a year, I sold it. However I now had a good chunk of cash and worked out I could sell the TS and replace both cars with a GTV V6. Looked at quite a few, but eventually settled on a Proteo Red one of 99 vintage. Purchased from an ad on this very site. Here's a link to the previous owner's thread.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=16...
I spent quite a lot of time, effort and cash on upgrades and maintenance and last month got her to pretty much perfect for me.
IMG_5282 by Tristan Kelly, on FlickrThen two weeks ago this happened...
IMG_5310 by Tristan Kelly, on FlickrTo say I was devastated would be an understatement. Doesn't look that bad at first glance, however the bumper is still mounted solidly to the chassis, so should give you a good idea of how bent the front is.
Anyway after some arguing with insurers I accepted an amount and retained the car for spares. The hunt was then on for a replacement. Cue an Alfa Owners Club member seeing my distress and offering up his "spare" GTV v6!
Here's how she looked on Saturday when I collected her from Oxfordshire.
Before by Tristan Kelly, on FlickrOne hot and sweaty weekend later and she now looks like this!
IMG_5368 by Tristan Kelly, on FlickrSo, every cloud and that. I'll update this as and when I do other things. She has a way to go to make perfect, but the base is a really good one!
Thanks, dude. Yeah, the Busso is a bit special alright and what a thing to look at!
IMG_4861 by Tristan Kelly, on Flickr
IMG_4861 by Tristan Kelly, on FlickrWhere_does_this_bit_go said:
Thanks, dude. Yeah, the Busso is a bit special alright and what a thing to look at!
IMG_4861 by Tristan Kelly, on Flickr
Two lovely looking cars OP; shame what happened to the first.IMG_4861 by Tristan Kelly, on FlickrPlus a school day for me; I never knew the headlight units on these were 1 piece and simply appeared separate due to the bonnet! Front end looks almost Supra like with the bonnet up!
Aha, Hi Sam! Yes I'm a killer 
She's sat outside at the minute, whilst I ponder what to do with her. I was going to fit the gearbox and Quaife diff to the new one, but low and behold it already has one! I'm not sure that the guy I bought it from knew either! The new one drives beautifully. She's a lot more refined than the Proteo, which when compared back to back with this one, kind of shows how tired she was getting.
I've been in discussions with a chap over on the 916 page on FB and he wants to buy her from me and fix her up, she may well live to fight another day!
And yep, Sid. Glassfibre clamshell :-)
She's sat outside at the minute, whilst I ponder what to do with her. I was going to fit the gearbox and Quaife diff to the new one, but low and behold it already has one! I'm not sure that the guy I bought it from knew either! The new one drives beautifully. She's a lot more refined than the Proteo, which when compared back to back with this one, kind of shows how tired she was getting. I've been in discussions with a chap over on the 916 page on FB and he wants to buy her from me and fix her up, she may well live to fight another day!
And yep, Sid. Glassfibre clamshell :-)
Thanks for all the kind comments :-)
@Sturdy, the exhaust on the Rosso car is a custom full stainless job, unsure of make and it's a bit quiet (sounds like a standard set up), but is free flowing and performance seems on par with the Proteo car. That had a Ragazzon straight through rear, with standard centre and cybox equal length downpipes. It sounds awesome, but is probably a bit too much for a daily driver. I'm considering transferring it all over to the Rosso, but at the minute, I'm kind of enjoying rolling in "stealth mode".
Next job to sort is getting the aircon working. It's been brutal in there the last few days
@Sam, yeah I seem to have struck gold with this car. It so far seems to be somewhat of a bargain! A suspension refresh is on the cards before the next MOT, but for now she's doing just fine :-)
@Sturdy, the exhaust on the Rosso car is a custom full stainless job, unsure of make and it's a bit quiet (sounds like a standard set up), but is free flowing and performance seems on par with the Proteo car. That had a Ragazzon straight through rear, with standard centre and cybox equal length downpipes. It sounds awesome, but is probably a bit too much for a daily driver. I'm considering transferring it all over to the Rosso, but at the minute, I'm kind of enjoying rolling in "stealth mode".
Next job to sort is getting the aircon working. It's been brutal in there the last few days
@Sam, yeah I seem to have struck gold with this car. It so far seems to be somewhat of a bargain! A suspension refresh is on the cards before the next MOT, but for now she's doing just fine :-)
Hi, That's my old car!
Well known by my mates as the money pit.
Owned it for a few years, had a lot of work carried out at a alfa specialist to make it a1 condition.
The previous owner to me had the exhaust made by a specialist, there was a receipt in the service file with the words not to loud on the order.
Well known by my mates as the money pit.
Owned it for a few years, had a lot of work carried out at a alfa specialist to make it a1 condition.
The previous owner to me had the exhaust made by a specialist, there was a receipt in the service file with the words not to loud on the order.
Jec, That's a turn up for the books! I could tell that she'd been loved and looked after, despite the lack of any history. Can you tell me what you had done and when/where? I'd love to get a more detailed history of her, rather than the three receipts and a German service book that I currently have! Feel free to PM/email me if you prefer.
Tris
Tris
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